New source means new cellular communication
For 50 years, thousands of labs around the world have studied cells’ critical internal communications, and scientists had assumed the speakers were known. But now, in the Dec. 17 issue of Science, Johns Hopkins researchers report finding not just a new participant, but a brand new conversation that has implications for treating disease and understanding biology.
Much of cells’ internal communication revolves around two
Hummingbirds aren’t known for their power-lifting prowess. But researchers nevertheless put nearly 1,000 Peruvian hummers through lifting trials and flight tests over a two-year stretch in order to find out how their flying abilities are affected by the lower oxygen and thin air of higher elevations.
The results, which appeared this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) Online Early Edition, show a clear decline in hummingbirds’ lifting a
Thomas Kusch, Ph.D., a Senior Research Associate at the Stowers Institute working with Investigator Jerry Workman, Ph.D., has identified a histone-modifying complex from Drosophila melanogaster (fruit flies), which facilitates DNA double-strand repair by locally increasing DNA accessibility at sites of damage. The findings are available in the Dec. 17 issue of Science.
“DNA double strand breaks are regarded as one of the primary causes of cancer,” says Kusch. “While there are nat
Scientists have sequenced the genome of the microorganism Silicibacter pomeroyi, a member of an abundant group of marine bacteria known to impact the Earth’s ecosystem by releasing and consuming atmospheric gases. This genetic blueprint provides insight into the biochemical pathways the bacterium uses to regulate its release of sulfur and carbon monoxide. Atmospheric sulfur serves as a catalyst for cloud formation, in turn, directly affecting the planet’s temperature and energy regula
Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered an enzyme in mammals crucial to the transportation of proteins within cells. Published today in Neuron, this discovery opens new avenues of understanding of the mechanisms underlying neuronal function and new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimers and Huntington Disease.
The enzyme, HIP14, is a palmitoyl transferase that adds signaling molecules to proteins resulting in their transpo
For nearly 75 years, transition-state theory has guided chemists in how they view the way chemical reactions proceed. Recent research by Emory University chemists is challenging the long-held theory, showing that in some cases chemical reactions can proceed via a path that completely bypasses the “transition state.”
“Our understanding of chemical reactions rests on the notion of the transition state. If we think of reactions as occurring on an energy landscape, the transition stat
Virginia Tech researchers are working on technologies that could create a new industry from a problem in the state’s cotton-growing region.
“Our goal is to add a value to the cotton crop by using the residue from the cotton to make a valuable product,” said Foster A. Agblevor, professor of biological systems engineering in Virginia Tech’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
About 100,000 acres of cotton are grown in the Virginia counties of Southampton, I
In experiments with fruit flies, Johns Hopkins researchers have found that blindness induced by constant light results directly from the loss of a key light-detecting protein, rather than from the overall death of cells in the retina, which in humans is a light-sensitive tissue at the back of the eye.
The research, reported in the Dec. 14 issue of Current Biology, overturns the long-standing belief that blindness from chronic light exposure is a direct result of overall retinal deg
In a finding akin to discovering pages missing from an antique car repair manual, researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center have linked for the first time two biological processes crucial to cell survival.
The finding, reported in the Dec. 17, 2004, issue of the journal Cell, provides the first link between a cell’s DNA repair machinery and its DNA storage and retrieval machinery. The two processes have been studied independently, and each is essential f
Rhesus macaques communicate between themselves using a complex series of sounds that can signify things as distinct as the presence of danger, particular social relationships, emotions or food alerts. Now scientists in the latest issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, while analyzing the brain areas activated during the recognition of these sounds, found that not only do monkeys seem to interpret these sounds using abstract representations like
Researchers from Finland have found that the antibiotic ciprofloxacin (brand names Ciproxin, Ciprofloxacin etc.) greatly increases the concentrations of tizanidine (Sirdalud, Zanaflex) in blood. Concomitant use of ciprofloxacin and tizanidine results in severe and prolonged decrease in blood pressure and greatly enhances central nervous system effects.
This previously unrecognised interaction can be dangerous, particularly in elderly patients, and the concomitant use of the two age
A restrictive diet in mice reduces the build-up of a substance linked to memory loss. But can the findngs be applied to humans?
Restricting the diets of mice reduces the build-up of plaques in the brain that are linked to Alzheimer’s disease, according to a USC study. With obese people generally considered to be at a higher risk for developing Alzheimer’s, the research raises questions about whether the findings are potentially applicable to humans. “This is the first i
A mutant gene that starves the brain of serotonin, a mood-regulating chemical messenger, has been discovered and found to be 10 times more prevalent in depressed patients than in control subjects, report researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI). Patients with the mutation failed to respond well to the most commonly prescribed class of antidepressant medications, which work via ser
Unexpected findings about the genetic makeup of a marine microbe have given scientists a new perspective on how bacteria make a living in the ocean – a view that may prove useful in wider studies of marine ecology.
By deciphering and analyzing the DNA sequence of Silicibacter pomeroyi, a member of an important group of marine bacteria, scientists found that the metabolic strategies of marine bacterioplankton are more diverse and less conventional than previously thought.
Immune cells can trigger severe pneumonia
A new study has found that malfunctioning immune cells can be the cause of severe pneumonia. This discovery was made by scientists working at the German Research Centre for Biotechnology (GBF) in Braunschweig. In the latest issue of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine (AJRCCM), GBF researchers describe how mice in their experiments developed a tendency toward chronic inflammation of the lung’s mucous membra
Scientists have discovered a new biological pathway that may be useful in regulating angiogenesis, the process the body uses to build new blood vessels. The findings, published in the December issue of the journal Immunity, may offer clinicians a new way to intervene in a broad range of diseases and disorders, including cancer, heart and lung disease, wound healing and transplantation.
Angiogenesis is a normal function in the body, but it’s not always helpful. For example, while
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